Moore Housing Contractors is negotiating a deal to build six houses for Countryside Realtors. Countryside wants the houses built between late winter and fall to sell them over the busy summer months. It is insisting each house be completed within 45 days or it will charge Moore Contractors a penalty. Mary and Sandy Moore created conservative time estimates for each building activity and total completion time. They are concerned about meeting the 45 day deadline and incurring penalties, so they want to analyze the project schedule to determine the likelihood of on-time completion before agreeing to penalties.
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Es 08 pert case 2
1. Case Problem 9.2
Moore Housing Contractors
Moore Housing Contractors is negotiating a deal with Countryside Realtors to build six houses in a new
development. Countryside wants Moore Contractors to start in the late winter or early spring when the weather
begins to moderate and build through the summer into the fall. The summer months are busy time for the realty
company, and it believes it can sell the houses almost as soon as they are ready sometimes before. The houses
all have similar floor plans and are of approximately equal size; only the exteriors are noticeably different. The
completion time is so critical for Countryside Realtors that it is insisting a project management network accompany
the contractors bid for the job with an estimate of the completion time for a house. The realtor also needs to be
able to plan its offerings and marketing for the summer. The realtor wants each house to be completed within 45
days after it is started. If a house is not completed within this time frame, the realtor wants to be able to charge
the contractor a penalty. Mary and Sandy Moore, the president and vice president of Moore Housing Contractors,
are concerned about the prospect of a penalty. They want to be confident they can meet the deadline for a house
before entering into any agreement with a penalty involved. (If there is a reasonable likelihood they cannot finish a
house within 45 days, they want to increase their bid to cover potential penalty charges.)
The Moores are experienced home builders, so it was not difficult for them to list the activities involved in
building a house or to estimate activity times. However, they made their estimates conservatively and tended to
increase their pessimistic estimates to compensate for the possibility of bad weather and variations in their
workforce. Following is a list of the activities for building a house and the activity time estimates:
TIME (DAYS)_________
Activity Description Predecessors a m b__
a Excavation, pour footers - 3 4 6
b Lay foundation a 2 3 5
c Frame and roof b 2 4 5
d Lay drain tiles b 1 2 4
e Sewer (floor) drains b 1 2 3
f Install insulation c 2 4 5
g Pour basement floor e 2 3 5
h Rough plumbing, pipes e 2 4 7
i Install windows f 1 3 4
j Rough electrical wiring f 1 2 4
k Install furnace, air conditioner c,g 3 5 8
l Exterior brickwork I 5 6 10
m Install plasterboard, mud, plaster j, h, k 6 8 12
n Roof shingles, flashing l 2 3 6
o Attach gutter, downspouts n 1 2 5
p Grading d, o 2 3 7
q Lay subflooring m 3 4 6
r Lay driveway, walks, landscape p 4 6 10
s Finish carpentry q 3 5 12
t Kitchen cabinetry, sink, and appliances q 2 4 8
u Bathroom cabinetry, fixtures q 2 3 6
v Painting (interior and exterior) t, u 4 6 10
w Finish wood floors, lay carpet v, s 2 5 8
x Final electrical, light fixtures v 1 3 4
1. Develop a CPM/PERT network for Moore House Contractors and determine the probability that the contractors
can complete a house within 45 days Does it appear that the Moores might need to increase their bid to
compensate for potential penalties?
2. Indicate which project activities Moore Contractors should be particularly diligent to keep on schedule by
making sure workers and materials are always available. Also indicate which activities the company might shift
workers from as the need arises.